Headline then: Has John Calipari at Kentucky run its course?
The day before, Kentucky had lost at Alabama by 26 points. Two days later the Wildcats would lose at home to lowly South Carolina, dropping their record to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the SEC. “Please Go To Texas” read a sign displayed by a patron among the unusual number of empty seats at Rupp Arena. Factor in a 9-16 COVID season followed by a first-round NCAA Tournament loss the next and popular conjecture had Calipari’s UK era hanging by a thread.
Nearly two months later, Kentucky is back from the dead. The Cats are 20-9 overall. They are 11-5 in the SEC, entrenched in third place with an outside shot at second. They have beaten Tennessee twice and Saturday trounced Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers 86-54 at Rupp. They have climbed from the 50s to No. 20 in the NCAA NET rankings.
